July 30th.—From 2A.M.till daylight heavy rain. Enemy got in close under the wall of the Seikh lines, and began some kind of operations against it; they were so close that no musket could be fired, being under a projecting piece of thewall; they were, however, dislodged by a few pistol shots, and ran off. No further incident occurred during the night, beyond that there was the usual amount of firing into our position, and bugling on the part of the enemy. After daylight enemy fired slackly. Terrible stench in many parts of the garrison from half-buried corpses and animals, which we had no time or means to bury properly. Several cases of fever, cholera, and smallpox.
About 9A.M.a number of sepoys and matchlockmen were seen coming along the Cawnpore road, and for about an hour and a half a continuous stream of men came in in detached parties of twenty and thirty: some sepoys were among them. Slack firing during the forenoon, only a few shells and musketry. In the afternoon, heavy rain for an hour. Unable to discover what the enemy were about. Considerable progress made in a sap, which we had sunk in an outhouse close to the corner of the brigade mess-house, where most of the children and ladies were located. At first the enemy were heard mining towards us, but since yesterday we had not heard them. We continued, however, tosteadily push our sap, hoping either to come across that of the enemy or succeed in getting under Johannes' house; from which they fired all day long on any one who showed himself. Yesterday an artillery sergeant, who incautiously crossed the road commanded from Johannes' house, was shot through both legs. The enemy had many riflemen, and some of them were most expert shots, firing through our loopholes.
About 8P.M., as Captain Wilson, Lieutenant Barwell, Lieutenant James, and Mr. Lawrence were sitting on the chubootra of the Begum Kotee, a shell came in and exploded as it struck the parapet of the wall under which they sat, bringing it down. Lieutenant James, who was lying wounded on his bed, had a most wonderful escape. A large piece of masonry, weighing upwards of a hundred weight, fell on his bed, breaking it to pieces, and bringing him down on the ground; but he was uninjured. Mr. Lawrence received a severe contusion on the back and head from falling masonry; and this was the extent of the damage. Mrs. Clarke, wife of Lieutenant Clarke of the 21st Native Infantry,died this evening: bad food, privation, confinement, and smells of all kinds, worked their effects.